When students arrive on campus, they will receive a mailbox key in their move-in packet. All on-campus resident boxes are in the Student Mailbox Center – SMC. Mailboxes are available for incoming mail starting on August 1. Any mail that arrives before this date will be returned to the sender.

Mailbox Assignments

First Year Students are assigned mailboxes at the Student Mailbox Center – SMC. You will receive an email from Duke Campus Mail Services with your assignment. If you have lost this email, or never received it in the first place, please reach out to Campus Mail Services, so we can look up your box number for you.

This mailbox is assigned to you for your entire undergraduate career at Duke, please be sure to keep your key over breaks and vacations! It is extremely important to use your mailbox number on all incoming mail and packages to help identify your items. Also, you will need to use your key to open your mailbox (once mail has been placed in the box we are unable to retrieve it for you due to federal law).

If, for whatever reason, you were not assigned a mailbox, or have closed and would like to re-open your mailbox, please stop by the Student Mailbox Center on the bottom floor of the Bryan Center between 8:30am and 11:00am to get a new box assigned. There may be a fee charged to your bursar's account associated with opening/re-opening a mailbox, depending on your circumstances.

Mailbox Keys

You can pick-up your key at the Student Mailbox Center – SMC front desk. When you are first assigned a mailbox, you will be issued a single mailbox key. You can check your mailbox at your convenience between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., and pick up parcels through the front desk during normal hours 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Please note that the Front Desk is closed on weekends and university holidays.

Replacement Keys

If you misplace your mailbox key, you can purchase another key for $20 by going to the Student Mailbox Center front window and requesting a replacement key. The key charge will automatically be billed directly to the Bursar’s Office.

Mailbox Rental Fees and Refunds

Mailbox rental fees are billed at the beginning of each semester. If you do not need a mailbox and want to forfeit your mailbox, send an e-mail message to the following e-mail (postoffice.duke.edu) Subject Line: Request for mailbox rental fee refund. Please include your Name, Mailbox #, Duke ID# and we will authorize and credit your account.

Please note: You are only eligible to request a refund before the ADDS/DROPS deadline; no refunds will be permitted after that Add/Drops cut-off date.

Transfer or International Students

If you are a transfer or international student who was not assigned a mailbox and you would like to rent a mailbox, please come directly to the SMC Window Service counter at the Bryan Center. The Mailbox rental fee is billed before the start of each semester as the rental fees are subject to change per semester. If you lose your mailbox key, there is a $20 fee for a replacement key. If you fail to return your key when you close your mailbox, you will be charged $20 to replace your key. All fees are billed directly to your student bursar account.

Summer & Winter Breaks

You may still receive mail in your mailbox as normal. If you plan to be away from campus, and would like your mail to be forwarded to a new address, please stop by the Student Mailbox Center (SMC) to arrange and forward mail. Mail is forwarded once a week, and may take the US Postal Service several days to be received. Please note that only First-Class mail and packages shipped through USPS are eligible for forwarding; all other mail will be held at the Mail Center as normal. There is no charge for temporary forwarding of your mailbox. 

Closing Your Mailbox

Temporary Close

Study Abroad

If you are going to Study Abroad next semester or transferring schools for a semester or an entire year, please be sure to contact the Student Mailbox Center and provide us your status so that we can update or records. Also, we can “Temporary close” your mailbox and hold your mailbox until you return. If you will be gone the entire year, we will permanently close your mailbox.

Please note: It is very important to let us know your status, because if you do not let us know your mailbox will be closed permanently.

Leave of Absence (LOA) and Medical Leave of Absence (MLOA)

If you are going on a Leave of Absence – LOA or Medical Leave of Absence - MLOA, we can hold or “Temporary Close” for only a semester. If you will be gone an entire year, we will “Permanently Close” and close your mailbox altogether. When you return, you can request to open a new mailbox assignment. You can stop by the SMC window and request to open a new mailbox. We will assign you a box and give you a key. Then the Bursar’s Office will charge and bill you accordingly.

Permanent Close

Congratulations, if you are a “Rising Senior” and will be living off campus going forward! Please check your mailbox one last time, and turn in your key at the front window in the lobby. If you are moving off-campus and no longer need your mailbox, please let us know right away. Please call us at (919) 919-684-4104 between 8:30 a.m. -5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday.